


A Forest to Run (A Home to Find)

by NebulaWrites



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: A first chapter that I wrote really quickly, Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Magic, And Hanzo's dragons, But that's a different thing all together, I've given names to the spirit wolves, In a way, LET THEM BE HAPPY TOGETHER, M/M, Mentioned Kidnapping, Specifically together, hermit hanzo, let these boys be happy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-04-24 15:32:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19176214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NebulaWrites/pseuds/NebulaWrites
Summary: There is a guardian within the forest, as ancient as the trees themselves. As a child, Jack was always told to never dare venture into the forest, threatened by the legend every night before he was sent to bed. And it echoes in his mind even now as he runs, stumbling every other step and bleeding heavily from the point-blank shot he took before managing to escape. He can feel the wounds across his torso weeping with every movement he makes and the pain is dizzying.But he can’t stop.Overwatch’s secrets lie on his tongue bitterly, something he would never spit out no matter the amount of torture. No, he would take them to his grave because Overwatch was the only thing close to a family that he had.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this written for a while and have the spare time to throw this up, enjoy!

There is a guardian within the forest, as ancient as the trees themselves. It is a threat to anyone who wanders into its lands, chasing them out with vicious efficiency and killing those who refuse to leave. The guardian takes up the form of a wolf such a light shade of blue it looks white with its eyes a piercing golden that never blinks once they are set upon those it finds. It is said that if you hear its howls, you would be the next to fall victim to horrible teeth and blunted claws that were agonizing as they ripped your flesh.

As a child, Jack was always told to never dare venture into the forest, threatened by the legend every night before he was sent to bed. And it echoes in his mind even now as he runs, stumbling every other step and bleeding heavily from the point-blank shot he took before managing to escape. He can feel the wounds across his torso weeping with every movement he makes and the pain is dizzying.

But he can’t stop.

Overwatch’s secrets lie on his tongue bitterly, something he would never spit out no matter the amount of torture. No, he would take them to his grave because Overwatch was the only thing close to a family that he had.

It’s the dead of winter and the cold seeps into his bones brutally given the tattered state of his shirt – or well, what remained of it. He wouldn’t come here in the middle of the summer, much less the winter, but it was the closest cover that he could get to. Jack skirts around a large tree, gripping the bark with blunted fingernails as he finds an incline on the other side. The shouts are getting closer and louder leaving Jack with no choice.

He plunges down the hill, trying his best to maintain his balance in the snow and ice by lowering himself closer to the ground. It’s all going well until, with a lurch, he’s hurtling forward headfirst the rest of the way, foot stinging from where it caught on a hidden stone. “Down there, he’s down there!” a single voice bellows victoriously and Jack curses, wheezing loudly as he hits the ground, snow cascading over him in a freezing blanket. He won’t be able to move, he knows it even before he tries, so he stays put hoping with the depths of his soul that his pursuers would overlook him, continue in further so he can get out the way he came.

That hope grows as the guards stumble into the area one by one, cursing and looking around dumbly. “I thought you said he was down here, bastard!” one shouts, shoving another up against a tree.

“He _was_! He couldn’t have gotten far, start looking-!” he breaks off with a sound of horror, eyes bulging from what Jack could tell, and the blond had no idea why the soldier would look like that. That is until a large white paw steps right into his view and he goes tense, eyes widening as the humongous wolf prowls forward, attention fully on the guards. The beast doesn’t seem to realize he’s there, a low growl rumbling from its chest before it lets out a chilling howl.

The guards scream and break off in different directions, shoving those near away in attempts to cause easier prey. At first, the wolf doesn’t move, still hunkered down and glowering after the men before darting forward as there’s a sharp whistle. Not even a second later a second wolf follows the first, their howls echoing through the forest as well as the screams of their prey. Carefully, Jack tries to move and immediately groans in pain when all it does it pull torturously at his wounds. Above him, a huff makes him freeze apprehensively, eyes shooting towards the furred boot that stepped into his sights.

“ _How did they manage to completely miss you, foolishly eager for their chases._ ” a definite male voice speaks in a language Jack doesn’t understand – maybe he would recognize it if his head wasn’t spinning a million miles an hour. Just as there’s movement once more, pain and blood loss finally manage to sink their claws into Jack and draw him into a world of false warmth and comfort.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cheeky update from a drive that took us by my aunt's house. All italic speech is in the speaker's native tongue. In this case, the wolves and Hanzo are speaking Japanese. Also. Akari is the younger wolf and is more energetic/trusting. Mitsue is the opposite, she likes calm things and tolerates her sister's energy.

As the blond man clearly falls unconscious, Hanzo huffs and kneels down to brush the snow off the other, stiffening immediately at the sight of the blood-stained snow he comes across. Oh, he thinks, surprised, while setting down his bow. No wonder this man was running from the ones in body armor, he must have escaped whatever they had been doing to him. Faintly at odds with himself, he casts a glance around and finally decides that helping this man is what he should do.

It takes him a few tries, but eventually, he gets the man on his shoulders and he turns his feet in the direction of home, scooping up his bow as he moves. His cabin is a few miles into the woods; safe from any wanderers and something that has stood for decades with little to no degradation in any way. The outside isn’t much to look at, simple and built to last, but the inside is where it was at, made for the comfort of a mother and her son through the harsh winters.

There is only one bed, a small one fit for one person alone – though a child could manage to squeeze on as he had learned from a young age – and Hanzo isn’t about to ruin the bedding with blood, so he throws a pelt or two down before laying the blond man down on his side.

His shirt is basically nonexistent, so Hanzo cuts it away with a ponder as to how he would get the man a new one. Treating wounds is second nature to him by now and with how little he’s needed to use over the years, he has more than enough supplies to clean and dress the man’s entire torso. “ _Starved,_ ” he grumbles, feeling over the man’s ribcage in search of anything broken. “ _You’re probably dehydrated too, aren’t you?_ ” Snuffling at the door makes him push away from the bed, pulling the door open to admit his two wolf spirits before he meanders back to the man. As he expected, it’s Mitsue who kicks the door closed while Akari follows him to stuff her nose as close as she can to the blond man. 

“ _Mother would have wanted to help him._ ” Hanzo grunts, cutting off any questions from the nosy wolf while his hands carefully trace down muscular arms in search of any dislocations or breaks. Amusement rolls off the giant wolf in waves, but she says nothing as she wiggles her way onto the bed just right so the man is braced against her. The archer – twenty-two years of age – very maturely makes a face at her before carefully beginning to splint the blond’s left arm. “ _He needs blood._ ”

Tellingly, Mitsue snarls vaguely before slumping in her bed, back to Hanzo and Akari as the latter offers one massive foreleg.

 

“ _Broth?_ ” Akari wriggles in excitement before deflating with a whine as Hanzo offers her a glare.

“ _It’s for him, there’s nothing else I can get into his system._ ” He explains, feeling slightly bad since he knew how much the playful spirit loved broths. Especially his mother’s broths. “ _I’ll make extra next time._ ”

“ _Don’t spoil her, she’ll learn bad habits._ ”

Akari whines and huffs at her sister, golden eyes narrowed as she lowers her head and glares. Mitsue puffs her chest out, sitting up proudly while Hanzo ignores both of them thanks to years of dealing with these little tiffs. He barely even notices when they start trading growls, faint howls, and whines, all of his attention on carefully spooning broth into the man’s mouth and letting his natural reflexes make him swallow. It’s only when Akari lunges off the bed does he break the rhythm he’d set up, tossing the mostly empty bowl aside to catch the blond before he fell off the bed. “ _Both of you get outside!_ ” he snarls, his voice cracking out like a whip and making both wolf spirits flatten themselves to the ground.

Chasing them out is no effort at all, and he slams the door shut behind them to counter the snow they shoveled in. Hanzo is suddenly confronted with nothing to do. He pauses, looking around the small cabin before shrugging a little as he simply goes along with his nightly routine, curling up in his mother’s chair with a book and a blanket afterward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> File corruption is fun. I'm working through the rewrites, I promise. But don't expect too much. I'm so sorry.

Jack didn’t remember passing out, so waking up simply leaves him in a daze of confusion. His body feels like lead and there’s a significant throb pulsing through his entire head, but he manages to get his eyes open and the first thing he notes is the fireplace across the room. Just where was he? It’s movement that draws him from his pondering, slow and at ease as the person settles in front of the fireplace, testing the cooking meat and stirring the pot.

“ _He’s awake._ ” A voice draws the soldier’s attention – spoken in a different language that sounds familiar – before he just looks right back as the man – probably? – turns around and blinks at him with dark eyes that contrasted greatly by the white hair surrounding his face in long braids. Why someone clearly so young would have white hair is beyond Jack, but paired with that soft skin and golden marks on his cheekbones, it really suited him.

“ _I don’t think he understands Japanese._ ” The voice speaks again, frustration dripping from the words even if he couldn’t understand what was being said. Dark eyes roll in clear dismissal as the man steps forward with a bowl in his hands. “ _Perhaps English?_ ”

“How are you feeling?” he asks as he offers the bowl, a spoon now in hand as if magically procured, but Jack doesn’t reach for it, eyeing the liquid inside despite the way his mouth waters at the smell. “I dug you out of a snowdrift, hauled you to my home and cared for your wounds these last six days. If I were going to poison you, it wouldn’t be in the same broth I drink.” Somewhere between the annoyed frown, cocked hip and the whimper behind him, the blond rethinks and accepts the bowl with surprisingly steady hands. Smug, the man turns away with a warning that the broth would still be warm.

Not that the warmth seeping through the wooden dish hadn’t already given that away, he studies the broth curiously, stirring it with his spoon and watching as his apparent host pulls something clay made away from the fire. “On the topic of you helping me,” Jack begins, clearing his voice and meeting the man’s eyes when he turns around. “Why did you?”

“It’s my duty to help those who wander with no harm in mind.”

It’s the only thing said before the man prods at the larger slabs of meat skewered away from the licking flames of the fire. “I helped you because it was clear to me that you weren’t here to inflict harm, the men you were with were a different story.” One shoulder rolls up in a shrug, graceful and smooth before the meat is heaved out on a swivel.

“He takes after his mother, a wonderful trait in my opinion! Hiromi was wonderfully kind, truly an angel sent to live on earth.” A young voice, female with an accent almost identical to the man comes in replacement of the one from earlier, the admiration oozing from the tone as if the words weren’t enough to cover that fact. The man looks sadly fond at the name, giving a single sharp whistle. Jack watches the other man, pausing from his eating when something squirms like an excited worm, jarring him and causing an ache to form in his ribs.

He doesn’t even get to turn before he’s suddenly falling back, head bumping against the headboard and soup sloshing heavily in the thankfully deep bowl. “Akari,” the name is snapped harshly, dark eyes wide as the man lunges for Jack, immediately searching for injuries or a concussion. The medical training is obvious with the paced and careful movements the other makes even as he urges Jack forward, bunching pillows and blankets to prop him up. “I am sorry, she gets overexcited with food.”

“That’s fine,” Jack says before the words register, and when they do he freezes, eyes darting to the side to see the wolf that chased the soldiers off. It’s sitting next to the door like a dog eager for its walk, eyes glued to the meat as it salivates. “What-?” he can’t form anything to follow the word, muscles all tense at the huge beast. All he can do is question what he should be more afraid of, the wolf or the man who apparently keeps it as a pet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think most of the next few things may be more inclined to my attempts to fix my mood. Soooooo, yeah :b Thanks for your patience and reading this update

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope to see you in the next chapter!


End file.
